Looking at the Grip of Winter

Cold winter air makes clear the sky
Mocks my hopes and dreams of July
Achy bones chill will amplify

See the beauty of snow and stars
And frosty breath hangs as galaxies
Cold winter air makes clear the sky

All shades of gray from black to white
Surround the drifts and ice coated world
Mocks my hopes and dreams of July

Wrapped in flannel covered in wool
The winter wind seeps through my soul
Achy bones chill will amplify

It is March and the robins have arrived and are feeling the winter cold. They’ve been attacking the last remaining berries on the trees and scavenging the suet and what bird seed they can find. It happens every year – the robins arrive too early and are forced to survive. Some don’t. Sparky had to toss a frozen one in the trash can so that Mochi wouldn’t attempt to eat it. I console myself that they are not endangered. I’m able to acknowledge the beauty of winter and at the same time admit that I’m completely over it. I want warmer weather. I want to see some blue skies. I want green – grass, trees, the return of the frogs. I guess I’m greedy and impatient. I’m wondering if I used the word please if that would make a difference. If only asking nicely would make spring arrive more quickly…

The above poem is written as a Cascade where there are 4 three line stanzas. The first stanza’s lines become the last line in the following stanzas. There is no required rhyme or meter. To make this more fun, I also wrote it as a Cento using lines from a poem I wrote a year ago. The diagram would look like: A/B/C, X/X/A, X/X/B, X/X/C

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